I need you
by LemonSherbert
Summary: Levy is a lone traveller in a zombie infested world, she doesn't care much for people but soon finds herself calling a group of rowdy, ragtag survivors (members of fairytail and other guilds), family though everything goes down hill when another group... phantom lord feel the need to take what they have and she finally has something to fight for, Gajevy, some Lemon later.
1. Chapter 1

**I need you.**

 **By: LemonSherbert**

 **Chapter 1: G'night sweetheart**

 **I do not own Fairytail or any of the characters in this story, they are owned by Hiro Mashima, anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review.**

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Sweat trickled down her brow as she panted and wiped it away with the back of her palm, her hazel eyes shimmered gold as she looked up at the sun that was beating down on her. She hadn't seen a drop of rain in over three weeks, not even a drizzle, her short, blue hair was pulled up in a messy bun via a dirty, red bandanna. Her light brown shorts were coated in dried blood and mud, her bare legs fared no different, grazed and barely able to keep her moving. She wore black biker boots that came half way up her lower leg and a large crimson wife beater that was tucked into her shorts, she had on a thick army jacket that hung down to her mid-thigh and she had a beaten up backpack that only had one strap still on it. There were a few weapons on her, a large bowie knife was tucked into the strap of her biker boot, a large machete was pushed into a belt hole on her shorts and in her left hand was a cross bow that she'd picked up a few miles back. The road was barren, nothing but rusting, bloody and mangled, dead cars, some of those things were groaning from their metal boxes but she paid them no mind as she weaved in and out of the sea of vehicles.

"Need to find somewhere to rest soon..." she said to herself, she'd long since stopped thinking to herself, there was no point, no one was around to hear her, the last people... _living_ people that she'd seen was maybe two months ago and she didn't stick around to be friends with them. The small bluenette had learnt long ago that sticking with people meant creating bonds and that meant being hurt when they died which they would, they always would. They'd get cocky, they'd think that their numbers would keep them safe but it didn't it never did, it just meant a bigger and easier target, more people to pick off. It had been five months since it all happened, since she lost everything, since the world was changed for everyone, it happened so fast it was almost a blur.

She was sat at home, it was her day off of work, she was a nurse, it was all over the news, people attacking people, biting them... eating them. Then her phone began ringing and she needed to get into work, there were so many people coming in with bites, lacerations, some missing pieces of their bodies. Arms, legs, eyes, parts of their jaws, it was a gruesome show, like something she'd seen from one of those zombie movies but this... it was real, it was all happening right in front of her. She tried, she tried so hard to save them but they... they turned, biting nurses and other patients, infecting them with whatever parasite was running through their veins. It weighed heavy on her heart that she ran, she didn't try to help, she was scared and confused, so she ran, she couldn't save them, there was no point wasting her time. There were times at night that she sobbed, cried herself to sleep, when the nightmares kept her awake, she was alone, afraid and fighting. She couldn't stay in one place for too long, she learnt that the hard way when the first group she ran with stayed in an open field for more than a week. They came from all around them, the gangling corpses quickly overrunning the camp sight, she didn't stay, she grabbed her things and ran, there was nothing she could do for those people. The screams echoed in her head, the ghastly noise of flesh tearing, bones cracking, it was like a never ending sound track from a horror movie. Human interaction was now only done if it was a must, killing well, that came easy; the things following her weren't people... maybe once but not anymore.

Her body felt like it was burning up and she sighed, placing her crossbow against the tire of a car, she pulled the worn down bag across her chest and unzipped it. There wasn't much in it, a few granola bars, a couple cans of tinned food and three bottle of water, one already half drained. She pulled the half empty bottle out and zipped her bag back up; she plucked up her crossbow and balanced the bow between her hip and arm as she unscrewed the top of the bottle. The little, lone traveller sipped at the water, it wasn't cold, it was more warm than anything but she wasn't going to be fussy when essentials such as water and food were scarce so she took what she needed. She would have looted the cars but it would have made noise trying to get into them and she wasn't just going to announce her position to anything or anyone lurking in the woodlands either side of her, even though she was already being watched...

"What's she doing?" Came his gruff voice as the blonde woman below him, hidden in the shrub, stared through a pair of binoculars, he could see the little girl just fine but she could see closer. His tanned skin glistened with sweat from the sun, the ripped sleeves of his black T-shirt showing his beautifully crafted muscles and the metal studs in his arms glittered in the sun. It was so fucking hot; he had to tie his long, thick, black hair back in a loose pony tail with strands falling down the sides of his face. His red eyes were following the blue haired girl walking between the cars, his studded brow coming together in a scowl, she looked too small to be alone... too weak, yet she also looked like she could handle herself just fine.

"She's... just walking, literally, I think she's just another traveller, should I get Natsu to go out and see her?" The blonde asked, referring to his unruly cousin a few miles down the road, who had a way with people where as he, did not. He wasn't sociable, he hated getting caught up in people, he didn't like them, when everything broke out it was like heaven, just him and his cousin though that made him want to put a bullet in his brain most days. Of course, Natsu being the sociable prick he was, started picking up stragglers as they travelled, they soon had a group of over forty though over half of them came from a different group that banded with them.

"No... I don't see the point, she looks fine, she'll just take up more space and food..." he grumbled as his eyes followed her, she could have been no more than eighteen, a child compared to most of them, she was tiny, slim... she looked underfed and tired.

"Come on, what did Makarov say, we have to help those in need, she's just a kid... on her own, what if that was Wendy?" She asked, referring to the young girl they had taken in over a month ago and practically claimed him as her big brother, she barely ever left his side and he found himself oddly fond of the little one. He sighed as he shook his head, she had a point, he would have hated seeing Wendy out on her own, fending for herself in a world that had become to cruel too quickly.

"Fine, I'll go talk to her, you stay here... watch from the tree, if there are any walkers or people we don't know then you know what to do!" He grunted and she jumped up, grinning at him, she was his cousin's not so obvious booty call and he hardly blamed him. She had an hour glass figure; she was tall, slim and had long, blonde hair down to her back though it was tied in a side pony tail. Her chocolate brown eyes were fanned by thick lashes and she was full of spirit, she kind of reminded him of a cheerleader. She started to climb the nearest tree as he stepped out from the shadows of the trees, like a wolf stalking its prey.

She sighed as she looked around, there was nothing much to be able to scavenge anyway, some people had left their cars and grabbed whatever was in the trunk while others had eventually died in the safety of their vehicles. It was a sad sight to say the least but well... it sounded harsh but better them than her, she didn't dwell on the people that died, it was stupid and meaningless. Lots of people had died, if she had to mourn for everyone she'd passed then it would take her a life time to finally finish but she didn't have that feeling anymore. Happiness, sadness and safety were a luxury long since forgotten, it was kill or be killed and she knew which one she picked though sometimes she wondered if it was worth it, what was she even living for?

"Hey, kid...!" A deep voice grunted and she span around, dropping the bottle in her hand as her heart hammered quickly in her chest. The sound of someone speaking frightened her; it meant there was people around, people she didn't want to interact with. She couldn't see him properly with the sun glaring in her eyes but she had her crossbow held up to his face, she'd soon gotten the hang of not shaking when she was aiming with other weapons even if the bow was heavy.

"Stay back... come any closer and I'll shoot you in the eye!" She snapped in warning and the large shadow put his hands up in defence but she didn't feel at ease. He was tall, unbelievably so but then again she was four-foot-ten so everyone seemed tall to her. His shadow was bulky so he was clearly made up of muscle and she could see a mess of long hair and the glinting of piercings on his face and arms.

"Bit of a ballsy comment from a child, don't you think?" He questioned, his voice laced with amusement and she glared at him, child, who the hell did he think he was? She was short but that was just insulting.

"I'm not a kid you asshole, I'm twenty-three, now you have ten seconds to tell me what you want or I'm going to aim this thing at your crotch!" She growled, stepping forwards a little and the sun moved behind him, giving her a proper look at him and she was almost taken aback by him. He was handsome, really handsome, over six feet tall and built like a god, his long black hair made his red eyes look darker and his piercings made him look savage and tough. His eyes were wide and confused as he looked her over and she narrowed her golden eyes at him.

"No... You can't be more than eighteen!" He scoffed and she really, _really_ wanted to pull the trigger and watch one of her arrows get imbedded between his arrogant lips.

"I am, I was a nurse before all of this started so I know where are the most painful places to shoot you and watch you cry so tell me, what do you want!?" She snapped, putting her finger on the trigger a little tighter for good measure, showing that she meant business.

"Okay... okay, calm down, I just want to talk... if you put down that bow and I won't hurt you..." he said and it was almost a challenge. She couldn't tell if he was bluffing or not but she wasn't going to lower her weapon at any point, this guy was huge and could easily take her down.

"Not a chance, how do I know you don't have more men waiting for me to do just that, I'm not stupid so just say what you want and stop acting like a tough guy!" She retorted and he shook his head as he sighed.

"I guess since you ain't a kid I don't have to go easy on you, you've got three seconds to get that fucking thing out of my face or you'll regret it!" He growled suddenly going from slightly friendly to downright frightening in seconds and she stared at him, he was so confident it almost made her laugh. "Three... you better lower that!" The large man pressed and she shook her head.

"Not a hope in hell big guy, what makes you so sure you'll make it to three?" She asked, practically ready to pull the trigger but not sure if she should.

"Because you haven't killed anyone before... two..." he grumbled and her eyes grew wide, how did he know that? She hadn't killed anyone before but she was a pretty good actor and he seemed to see right through that. "One, times up!" He snapped and she yelped as he dove forwards and she pulled the trigger, the wire shot forwards and the arrow flew out of its place. She had to give it to him, the guy was fast, he managed to dodge the arrow and grab the bow before she could blink, the little bluenette gasped as he span her round. His hands quickly snatching the machete at her hip and held it to her throat. "Now, let go of the bow or I'll slit that pretty little throat of yours!" He hissed in her ears and she trembled as her fingers let go of the crossbow. The large man grabbed it then dropped it and she whimpered at the sound it made, like something had cracked. He didn't move from his spot as she panted, her adrenaline making her hypersensitive to everything even the movement beside them.

"Gajeel... let her go, she's just a child!" The female voice snapped and she glared at the cars, why did everyone seem to think she was a kid? She looked out the corner of her eye, seeing a busty, blonde woman in tight jeans and a pink blouse; she looked rather clean for someone in the apocalypse.

"She ain't a kid, she's a fucking nurse, the little bitch was threatening to shoot me, what else was I meant to do!?" He growled and the woman began scolding him and she used the distraction to her advantage lifting up her leg, slowly balancing on one as she began sliding the bowie knife from her boot. His hold on her had grown looser, she had to get out now while she still had the chance, she quickly lifted his hand and bit his palm, sinking her teeth in as hard as possible and he snarled dropping the knife. She used this and pushed herself out of his grip, twirling and slicing with the knife; it didn't catch him but slit open the stomach area of his shirt, showing his toned abs. He stared down at the torn fabric for a second, before he looked back at her and her heart thumbed painfully against her ribs as he glared. "This is my favourite shirt you little bitch!" He growled and she didn't want to stay to find out what he'd do to her.

The little woman took off running, knife in hand, clutching it until her knuckles went white and she dodged cars, her feet crunching over broken glass and diving over debris. Her lungs started to burn as she slid over the hood of a broken down, silver Vauxhall Corsa, there was a school bus ahead of her and she ran for it knowing she could lock the doors. She was so close she could almost feel the yellow paint until her bag snagged on the broken trunk of a messed up car, pulling her back, the strap almost ripped and she curse. With a heated sigh she began tugging on it, only tearing it more and she heard a growl and something slammed into her, making the air in her lungs rush out of her in a painful gasp. He was so heavy he was almost crushing her under his weight as he pinned her to the floor, his face inches from hers and she could feel broken glass digging into her legs and back.

"G-get off of me!" She yelled, struggling against him but he was much too strong for her to fight against as she writhed and groaned, trying to get free, his black hair was brushing her cheeks as her hazel eyes glared into his.

"You're gonna' pay for ruining my shirt, shorty!" He snapped and leaned up, she gasped as he pulled out a gun from the hip of his jeans, was he really going to shoot her over a goddamn shirt? "Oh don't worry, I ain't gonna kill you..." he grinned when he saw her fear and she looked up in confusion as he brought it down on her, quick and hard, smacking her in the head with the handle. It was so hard it felt like he'd split her head in two and everything went fuzzy and dark as she blinked, she could feel something wet dripping down the side of her face and she looked up. He was grinning as he stood up and she gasped for air as everything became harder to focus on. "G'night princess..." he smirked and everything went dark as she felt something pull up her arms...

"Did you really have to hit her; you could have talked this over...?" Her light voice asked behind him as he picked up the little woman, she was as light as a feather in his grasp and he hauled her over his shoulder. "You could at least hold her better as well..." she huffed and he rolled his red eyes.

"Trust me, she ain't one for talking, Lucy, she's clearly been alone for a while, she doesn't trust people, it's just easier to knock her out and bring her... plus, the bitch ruined my shirt, she's glad I didn't shoot her!" He grumbled and this time Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Fine mister cave man; let's just get back home before it gets dark... I hate the dark!" She sighed and he grunted, he didn't care if he was holding her like a caveman or that he'd slightly cut her head, it was her own fault for pissing him off. They walked back over to the threshold of the forest and began walking home, she was kind of cute, now that he knew she wasn't too young for him. He was twenty five and ex-army, he'd just come home when everything happened so to him, this was nothing compared to what he'd seen overseas. Gajeel quickly shook away those gruesome images and tried to focus on more important things, mainly the fact that the back of her legs were incredibly smooth and toned and he... as creepy as it sounded, began drawing patterns with his fingers over his skin. He couldn't wait for her too wake up, maybe he could piss her off a little more cause she was damn sexy when she was angry and she had the feisty spirit that he admired in a woman. Though she might punch him when she woke up as well… they just had to wait and see.


	2. Chapter 2

**I need you.**

 **By: LemonSherbert**

 **Chapter 2: I don't run with people!**

 **I do not own Fairytail or any of the characters in this story, they are owned by Hiro Mashima, anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review.**

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Her head was pounding as she slowly opened her eyes, the light above her was foggy and bright, making her eyes sting as she groaned and she put her hand up, shielding herself from its brightness. Slowly, she pushed herself up from the mattress... wait, she was in a bed! Panic set in as she looked around, it was an infirmary from what she could see, there were three beds in the small room, and there was a medicine cabinet that had very few bottle of medicine in it. It looked like the kind of infirmary that schools had, the bedding was clean but there were a few, fresh blood spots on it and she touched her head. She could feel the gauze that was just under her hair line and she glared, that was right, the asshole had pistol whipped her over a fricking shirt. Her body whined when she pulled back the covers and swung her legs out of the bed, she was still in all of her clothes, even her boots but her jacket was nowhere to be seen, nor was her bag. She sat for a moment, letting her head rest because she had suffered a head injury, she didn't want to get up to fast and so, she held onto the metal frame as she slowly pulled herself up. Everything span for a second and she swayed before she gained her balance, her hair fell in her face and she ran her fingers through the blue locks, holding her bangs away and she noticed her bandanna was gone.

With a huff of annoyance she walked over to the medicine cabinet, there wasn't much, some Aspirin, a couple bandages and gauze, a bunch of sleeping tablets, medical thread and needles, Ofloxacin for chest infections and a bunch of antibiotics such as Cephalosporin's and Macrolides. Their supply was lacking severely but that wasn't her problem, she reached up on her tip toes, plucking up the Aspirin and dropping two tablets onto her palm before she put the battle back. She threw the tablets in her mouth and quickly swallowed them, not wanting to taste the chalky tablets on her tongue because it made her want to gag. With a sigh she turned around and made her way to the door just as the door handle twisted and her heart skipped a beat, her mind raced as she looked around the room for something to use as a weapon. The only thing that even came close to it was the surgical needles and they weren't exactly any good to her; instead she opted for the sneaky approach and hid behind the door. She waited, hearing someone talking and she bit her lip, breathing slowly as the door opened and someone stepped inside.

"Wh... she's gone!" The pink haired person exclaimed and she saw the chance, shoving the man aside and he yelped as he fell forwards and she span around the door, instantly knocking into something concrete and she gasped as she fell backwards on to the floor. She glared as she looked up at whatever obstacle was blocking her escape to meet his red eyed gaze and her head instantly began to hurt like it was reliving the memory.

"Going somewhere? Short stuff" He asked with an amused grin and she noticed the jacket he was wearing, her camouflage jacket but it fit him perfectly. Everything about him annoyed her, his arrogant smirk, his glaring red eyes, the way he spoke her, his stupid names about her height she wanted to punch him.

"Yeah... away from here, now give me my stuff back!" She snapped at him and he raised his studded brow as if she had said something ridiculous as he put his hands in the pockets of the coat. He was in a black shirt and dark jeans with biker boots on and studded, fingerless, crimson gloves covered his hands.

"Is that so? Well after we spent a day and a half looking after your exhausted ass, I'd say you have a debt to repay, don't you agree? And after you ruined my shirt I think I deserve the jacket!" He retorted and her eyes widened, she'd been out for a whole day... that was awful, that means that the walkers that were tailing her had caught up to her by a day though she had no idea where she even was.

"I don't have to repay you a damn thing, if you hadn't tried to give me blunt force trauma then I wouldn't be here, this is your fault!" She huffed as she stood up and dusted herself off; the pink haired boy had gotten up and was sat behind her on the bed, watching the exchange with an amused smile.

"My fault, hah, you're the one who tried to fucking gut me and also take a chunk out of my goddamn hand!" The raven haired man snapped back, his ruby eyes glaring at her as he held up his hand, showing the purple bite mark on his skin and she scoffed.

"Well you should have left me alone; you deserved it, why did you even bring me here? What do you want!?" She grumbled as she folded her arms over her petite chest. Handsome or not, this guy was an asshole and she just wanted to be on her way, being around people made her nervous.

"Because..." the guy behind her said and she turned to face him with a glare. "This is our camp, we take in other survivors, we want to create a community, so people can have a normal life again... we want you to be a part of it" he said, his voice calm and kind. This man was a lot more friendlier than the guy she remembered as Gajeel, his salmon coloured hair spiked out and he had charcoal eyes, he was toned and tall but not as much as the obsidian haired brute behind her. He was wearing a black shirt with orange outlines on the sleeves and neck and he had a white, scale like scarf with beige, baggy pants and a pair of trainers.

"Why would I want to be a part of it? nothings normal anymore, you're kidding yourselves if you think it is!" She said and he shook his head as he folded his arms over his chest.

"We thought it would be a stupid idea as well but, over the months we've managed to take in over forty survivors and we established a home here... it's an old, private, boarding school, it's safe, secure, we have weapons and enough food to feed everyone, we're getting back to normal, it's just going to take time" he told her and she shook her head.

"Time... time for what? For the walkers to begin flooding around your cushy home, for them to eventually break in, for everyone one you've come to call friends to be torn apart before your eyes, sorry, I'd rather be alone than go through all that so I'll pass!" She snapped and he sighed.

"You're a nurse right? We don't have a nurse here... we could really use your help, we have a lot of people who are injured and not getting better, we've been trying but none of us are professionals like you" he said and she laughed, a bitter and annoyed laugh.

"Should have known, you don't want me here because I'm just another survivor, you want me here because I bring something to the table, well tough look pinkie, I'm not doing it, I don't run with people!" She retorted, annoyed that they thought they could use her for her profession, if they couldn't look after the weak, injured and sick then they shouldn't have made a community without finding a nurse or doctor first.

"What? Why? you're a survivor, you're supposed to want to help people!" He snapped and she almost flinched but her temper flared.

"Why would I want to help anyone? They're all going to die eventually anyway, you're just wasting resources and these people are not my problem I'm not supposed to do anything, maybe you should have thought about all this before you decided to take on dead weight and I've only survived this long because I've been _alone_!" She exclaimed and his charcoal eyes went wide as he stood up from the bed.

"Wow... and I thought he was heartless... there are children here that are seriously hurt and you're going to turn your back on them because it's not your problem?!" He asked as he stepped forwards and she looked up at him, his scowl was almost as terrifying as Gajeels but it hardly fazed her. The thought of children being hurt made her heart twinge but she had to focus on herself, people who are hurt in this world, the way it is now, it was like a death sentence.

"Yes... it's not my problem; I don't know these people... I don't have to help them..." she said slowly and he growled as he walked past her, purposely shoving her shoulder with his arm and she grit her teeth.

"Fine... then get out of here, after all we wouldn't want to make you feel like you have a place to call home now would we?" He grumbled as he walked away and she held her arms, riddled with guilt and annoyance. If it was just adults she could walk away, if it was grownups that could handle themselves then she could leave without so much as a care in the world. The room was silent other than her slow breathing and she chewed her lip, for god sake why did it have to be children?!

"Wait...!" She yelled as she turned around and walked out of the door, they were a little ways down the hall and they stopped as she sighed. "Fine... I'll help... where are they?!" She grumbled, looking down at the floor and she heard someone chuckle and there was running footsteps. The weight of the pink haired guy running into her made her gasp as he crushed her in a hug and she groaned as her heart fluttered. It had been so long since she'd been given a hug that it felt awkward and strange but rather... comforting.

"I knew you weren't a bad person, I'm Natsu and this is my cousin-"

"Gajeel... yeah, I met him on the road, if you didn't already know he was the sole reason I was knocked out!" She huffed as she glared at the large man who grinned and shrugged as if it was nothing. "I'm... my name's Levy..." she said, she couldn't say she was Levy anymore, Levy was a kind, funny, caring, smart person but now... she was cold, she barely smiled, she tried not to care... her name was Levy but she wasn't Levy anymore.

"Welcome to the team, Levy!" Natsu grinned and she sighed, as she shook her head.

"No... I'll treat your injured then I'm leaving, I don't do groups, not anymore, I'll help you but as soon as I'm done, I'm leaving" she explained and he smile wavered as he pulled back but instead of arguing, he nodded in understanding.

"Good, you're just taking up more space and food while you're here anyway!" Gajeel grumbled and she felt half inclined to punch him in his gut but she bit back the urge.

"Shut up Gajeel, she's a nurse, you ain't, as far as I'm concerned she has more right to stay here than you do, we have enough scouts and fighters!" Natsu snapped back at him and she grinned smugly as his red eyes glared down at her.

"I'm the best fighter and scout this place has got and you know it, we can just find another nurse or doctor, we don't need her!" Gajeel growled and Levy sighed, something she seemed to be doing a lot of.

"She's needed just as much as you are, Gajeel... you should be ashamed of yourself for treating a woman that way, especially when you wouldn't leave her side while she was sleeping until Natsu dragged you to get food" came a feminine voice and everyone turned around to see a tall, beautiful, scarlet haired woman. What she had said made Levy blush and she stared up at Gajeel who turned his face away from her in annoyance, had he really not left her side? The lady was gorgeous, even Levy was stunned as she walked up to them in tight jeans, a grey, V neck shirt that showed her more than ample cleavage and her long, red hair was tied in a ponytail. "Hello, my name is Erza... it's nice to see that you're awake" the woman smiled and held out her hand to Levy who slowly took her hand in greeting. Her hand shake was firm and strong, almost crushing Levys fingers and she was glad when the woman let go.

"Levy... It's uh, nice to meet you" she said back and the red haired lady nodded, Levy noticed that both the boys had shrunk back with the appearance of this woman and she cocked her head in confusion.

"Ignore them, I have a reputation for being... stern around here, after all, we haven't survived this long without rules and someone needs to uphold them, that is where I come in, you should know that we only have a few rules to abide by. Number one, you pull your weight, help clean, cook, tend to vegetables and the animals that we have, number two, if you need to go outside the walls then you tell someone and always take one of the scouts with you. Number three, do not under any circumstances leave the front gates open and Number four, the most important rule, you are never, ever to put yourself or any other member of the group in harm's way, other than that, we hope you'll find your stay, here, comfortable" she smiled and Levy nodded. While explaining the rules she sounded stern and was almost scary but when she was finished she was friendly and warm.

"I'll make sure I stay within those rules but I won't be here long enough to mess up" Levy said and Erza nodded curtly, she reminded Levy of a knight, noble and strong.

"Then I hope while you're here that you feel safe and happy, anyway, I must bid you goodbye, I have work to do and you two, if I hear anyone disrespecting her again I assure you a walker bite will be nothing compared to the pain I will put you through... I'm talking to you Gajeel!" Erza snapped and the raven haired man nodded like his life depended on it as the tall woman walked away, giving Levy a bright smile as she did.

"Phew... I'm glad that's over... Erza, despite what Gajeel says is one of the best fighters in this place, Gajeel doesn't even compare to her and she's kind of a huge demon!" Natsu sighed and Levy nodded in understanding, Erza did give off a no nonsense attitude but Levy respected that. "Right, before you get to work, why don't you go get a bath, you look like you've been through the mill and back" the pink haired boy suggested and Levy looked down at herself. She had to admit, she'd seen better days, her skin and clothes were dirty and bloody, her joints ached and a warm, soothing bath seemed to be just what she needed. Normally she took a dip in a river or stream whenever she came across one but it never lasted more than ten minutes, the thought of soaking in warm, clean water already had her sighing in relief.

"That... that would be nice..." Levy admitted and Natsu grinned as they began walking, Natsu explained the history of how the group came to be while Gajeel walked on her other side, not saying a word but she would feel her skin tingle like he was looking at her. She didn't really engage in the conversation, she didn't know how because most of what she wanted to say would upset him or have Gajeel making some snide remark.

"Right, here are the baths, it sounds weird but you will see guys and some girls in there as well and some people share the baths because we don't know how long the warm water will last... oh and with you being new someone will have to watch you, not in the creepy way but they have to stay in there with you... I'll get my friend to bring you some clothes so Gajeel can join you; he needs a fricking bath so bad!" Natsu grinned, staring at Gajeel like he knew something she didn't which made her cringe. She understood why someone had to be in there with her but why _him_? Thankfully Gajeel didn't say anything but pushed open the large, wooden door, there were several, medium sized baths, maybe about five spaced out in the room, some had shower curtains going over them and she could see a shadow or two behind one of them.

Levy followed Gajeel in and she walked over to the nearest bath, turning the silver faucet and water splashed into the tub, she put the plug in and felt her cheeks heat up as she turned around. He had taken the jacket off and was pulling away his shirt, the broad, toned muscles of his torso almost making her drool and she tore her eyes away as she gulped. Okay, now she had to get unchanged, that was fine, and he wasn't looking... why was she even nervous? She was in a zombie apocalypse and getting naked in front of a guy was making her panic?! She gave herself a mental slap and shook her silly thoughts out of her head. With a steady breath she pulled her crimson top from her shorts and pulled it over her head, the cool air made her skin prickle and she gulped as she slid her boots off, showing her dainty feet covered by old, grey socks that might have been white at one point. She closed her eyes tightly as she pulled down her shorts, along with her underwear then took her socks off, making sure to keep her back to him. If he saw her butt then that wasn't so bad but she don't know how she'd live if her saw her most private parts. Without a second thought, she stepped into the tub, the water was hot and she hissed as she turned on the cold water, facing the taps which happened to also be the opposite way his tub was so she was facing him and she brought her legs up to her chest. Oh god why did he have to be the one to be watching her? And in this case, he was literally watching her...


	3. Chapter 3

**I need you.**

 **By: LemonSherbert**

 **Chapter 3: Okay to be afraid.**

 **I do not own Fairytail or any of the characters in this story, they are owned by Hiro Mashima, anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review.**

* * *

Gajeel sat in his tub, steam surrounded him as he reclined and he couldn't stop his red eyes from gazing at her as she pulled down her shorts, her creamy skin was spotted with dried blood and dirt but that couldn't stop his excitement rising. Her back arched in the most beautiful way and her hips curved generously, giving her the best damn ass he had ever seen and that was saying something cause he'd seen many gorgeous butts in his days. She was petite in every other way though, from what he could see her chest was a handful but nothing more, she was slim, now that she had no clothes on she didn't look underfed but with just enough meat on her to show her slightly toned stomach as she turned and got in the tub. His red eyes travelled down her but she had already ducked under the water before he could catch a glimpse of the space between her legs which made him groan. She looked up, her golden eyes staring into his for a moment and he wasn't sure if she was embarrassed or the water was to hot but her cheeks were practically glowing pink. He watched her draw her legs up to her chest and she looked down at the water, her arm moved as she played with the water, causing it to ripple and he sighed. With a deep growl he sank further down, reclining as much as possible in the bath so his head was on the back of the porcelain tub and his arms were rested on its sides.

Levy looked up, seeing him staring up at the ceiling, his hair wasn't in a ponytail but was fanned out in long, thick spikey waves down his torso and she gulped. Water was dripping down his broad, muscled chest and steam drifted upwards making him look like some sort of beautiful demon and she shook her head. She was there for a bath, not to ogle him, though she didn't mind staring at him all day. No she was there to tend to injured people, she had to stop thinking like that. Levy began to rub the water against her skin though without soap it wasn't exactly helping until something fell into her bath and she saw the bar of said soap floating to the bottom. She looked up, seeing Gajeel looking at her with one eye open and she glared, snatching up the soap and she began washing herself properly. It took a while but she eventually managed to get all of the dirt and blood from her skin and she turned so she was no longer looking at him. She took in a gulp of air and pushed herself under the water, running her fingers through her hair, getting out the knots and dirt. When she had completely finished washing she stared down at the dirty bath water before looking around for the towels, they were next to a radiator behind her and she ground her teeth. She still had her back to him as she stood up and stepped out of the bath, she snatched up a clean towel and wrapped it around herself. It was fluffy and warm as it fell on her curves and she walked back over to the bath she had been in, pulling the plug and she watched the cloudy water get sucked into the grated hole. The sound of the door opening caught her attention and she looked up to see the blonde woman from the road holding several clothes.

"Hey there... Levy right? I'm Lucy, it's nice to meet you, Natsu told me to bring you some clean clothes!" She smiled brightly and Levy nodded as the busty woman walked up to her. Instead of her pink blouse, she was in a blue and white do up vest... thing and a black skirt with brown boots, kind of skimpy for running away from Zombies. Plus, why did every girl she'd met have bigger boobs? It was kind of a blow to her confidence... though she didn't really have any to begin with.

"Nice to meet you too, I guess... thanks" Levy replied as she took the clothes from Lucy, she looked through them and raised her brow... it was a dress... a damn dress. It was a bright orange dress with a white bow that did up around the wearer's neck and there were some red dolly shoes to go with it, along with some white panties with a pink bow on them and pink lace around the waist band. "Is this all you have?" She asked.

"Umm... sorry, it's the only thing I thought might fit you, you're welcome to go find something else, I'll take you if you like!" Lucy replied with red cheeks and Levy sighed, shaking her head. It would have to do, when she was leaving shed find something more suitable to wear. She pulled the panties out and handed the dress and shoes to Lucy as she slipped them up her legs, gliding them under the towel and she sighed. They were a size to big but she wasn't going to be picky about it, well about the dress maybe but everything else had to do.

"By the way, where is my bandanna?" Levy asked and Lucy cocked her head, making her blonde hair fall down her shoulder. "I was wearing it when that asshole tried to kill me..." she explained and Lucy nodded as she smiled.

"It was dirty and ripped so I threw it out..." she smiled and Levy glared at her as she snatched up the dress and pulled it over her head, shuffling out of the towel as she did.

"What? Who said you could do that? That was _my_ bandanna!" Levy growled as she began tying the dress around her neck and the blonde flinched as she handed her the shoes.

"I mean... we have ribbons couldn't you use them instead?" She asked and Levy shook her head with a grumble as she plucked up her jacket and Gajeel scowled at her and she flipped her middle finger up at him.

"You don't understand... that had sentimental value to it... you people need to stay the hell away from my stuff and where is my bag and weapon!?" She yelled as she threw the jacket on and Lucy bit her lip as she looked up at Gajeel and Levy stared at him.

"Gajeel took them... for safe keeping" she answered and Levy felt like screaming, half inclined to just leave and not tend to these peoples injured, she hated people for the most part but this was getting ridiculous.

"You know what; unless I get my stuff back I'm not doing a damn thing!" She snapped and Lucy's brown eyes went wide in disbelief as if she'd just told them that the sky was falling or something.

"Wh... but they're just weapons... and a stupid bandanna, you're not going to need them anymore!" Lucy yelled back at her and Levy raised her brow.

"Excuse me miss high and mighty but they are my weapons, that was my stupid bandanna that I got from... a friend and I will need them because I'm not staying so unless I have my knife and machete back and my bag I am not lifting a finger to help you people, just because you see a person doesn't mean you can quite literally take them against their own will then force your stupid rules and guilt trip them!" Levy shouted, feeling her heart speeding up as her rage bubbled to the surface.

"No one is forcing you to do anything; we just want your help!" Lucy retorted and Levy scoffed as she glared at the busty blonde, wanting to slap her across the face.

"Oh yeah... taking my weapons, my stuff, for _safe keeping_ , let me guess I don't get them back until I've dealt with your injured if so, you have another thing coming, I _will_ let them die unless I get my property back!" She snarled, her glare practically imbedded on her face for all eternity as Lucy scowled at her.

"All of this over a few trinkets..." Lucy sighed and Levy turned her face as Gajeel began getting out of the tub, running his hand through his wet hair and she saw Lucy smirking out of the corner of her eye.

"Now you know how I feel when he pistol whipped me over a stupid shirt, now give me my stuff back!" Levy grumbled and Lucy nodded, clearly exhausted and annoyed.

"Fine, Gajeel, give her back her stuff... please" Lucy said and Gajeel scoffed as he walked up to them with a towel wrapped around his waist, drops of water fell down his abs, dripping over his defined muscles and Levy tore her eyes away from him.

"No... they're mine now, she wants them back then she works for them... either you deal with our injured or I'll make sure your weapons are pretty much useless and I'll throw you out of here to fend for yourself!" He glared and Levy chuckled as she shook her head, her damp hair clinging to her skin as she moved.

"You really think that will work, I didn't always have those weapons you know, it won't be much of a challenge now give me my stuff back or I swear to god I will set fire to your hair while you sleep!" She threatened and a sick smirk grew on his lips, showing his slight fangs.

"What would you be doing in my room in the first place?... hmm" He teased and she made a gagging sound as she looked away, feeling her cheeks flush as she did so.

"Waiting to murder you in your sleep, I haven't killed a living person yet but I don't mind starting with you!" She growled and she felt him drape his wet arm over her shoulders and she tried to move away but he had her in a head lock, holding her to his side as she pushed against his rock hard, wet chest. Her hands sliding over him because of the water and he chuckled.

"Aw, is someone all embarrassed? I think you got a crush on me... that's why you want to be in my room, short stuff!" He grinned down at her and she growled, she had, had just about enough of his arrogance and stupidity. With a huff she jammed her elbow into his ribs making him groan and he grabbed his abused side as he let go of her and she grabbed his hair, getting her fingers lost in his wet locks as she yanked his head down to meet her knee. There was a crack as his jaw met her joint and he growled as Lucy gasped and Levy shoved him with all her might, making him smack into the cold, tiled wall and she glared at him.

"Let's get one thing straight, I am not your friend, I don't want to be your friend and I have had it with your stupid names, my name is Levy and if you can't get that through your thick, arrogant and obnoxious skull then I suggest you stay as far away from me as possible and don't ever touch me again!" She snapped as she glared at her, his lip was bleeding as he dabbed his tongue on the cut and the room was silent except for her ragged breathing.

"You're such a fucking bitch, you think just because you don't run with people that you can treat them as if they're below you... well news flash princess, they aren't if anything you're the low one, you push everyone aside and look after number one, tell me, how many people have died while you were around? How many times have you run away to save your own skin? You're a selfish uptight little cow, it isn't that you don't run with people, people don't run with you, it's because of you that other people have died, you think your strong but I can see straight through you, you're not, you're weak and pathetic and you hide when it gets tough because you're a coward!" He snapped and she felt her heart jump into her throat, causing a lump and her eyes stung as Lucy put her hands over her mouth.

"Gajeel... there was no need for that!" Lucy scolded and Gajeel shook his head as he wiped away the blood from his lip with his thumb but she knew he was right. She ran away because she was scared, because she couldn't help, she felt useless and so... to stop that feeling she stopped being around people, you couldn't be useless if there was no one to need your help.

"No there's every need, we can do without her, sure some of us might die but we don't need and pathetic, weak, depressed, isolated, stuck up bitch, you didn't hear what she said in the infirmary, that our wounded, our injured and dying weren't her problem, well you know what, no, they aren't the only problem she has is that she lets people die, she could make a difference but she chooses not to because she's a coward, she isn't surviving at all, she's running, she wasn't traveling or trying to find other people when we saw her, she was running away!" He snapped and she felt her heart stings snap as her stomach twisted and her eyes began to overflow, making the room blurry. She felt like she was about to explode, she hadn't cried in a long time, at least not while she was awake that was and now she could feel the burning in her throat, the sick feeling in her stomach, the feeling of her lungs about to collapse inwards and it was agonising.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She screamed as she glared down at the floor, her fists balled tightly. "You don't know me, you don't know anything about me, I tried, I tried to help the sick, I tried to save them but I couldn't, there was nothing that I could do, I'm too small... too weak, you don't know what it's like, I've travelled with people... more than once and each time they all died, it wasn't my fault, there was nothing I could have done, it was over before I even got involved!" She cried, thinking back to all the people she had watched be torn apart right in front of her. "That bandanna was from a man I met on the road, he was dying... he was the last person I ran with... he was too weak, I tried so hard to help him, I went for days without food to keep him healthy but it wasn't enough, I found somewhere for us to stay and I ran for miles to find a pharmacy, a house, anything that might have medical supplies but I couldn't a-and by the time I got back it was too late... he was already dead and turned!" She sobbed, his grey hair was stuck in her mind, his mouth agape and drooling with a mixture of blood and saliva just itching to tear into her skin. "I have tried so hard but there is only so much a person can take... and I can't, I can't take it anymore, I am sick of watching people die, I am done with trying to save people that can't be saved, just because I'm a nurse doesn't mean I can watch people die every day because I can't!" She yelled as she shook her head, shaking away her tears as she sniffled.

"Levy... just calm down... it's okay to be afraid and to want to run away, some people aren't strong, some people can't deal with this sort of thing but this is the way the world is now... we have to change, if you want we can help you... we can help you be strong" Lucy said in a soothing voice as Levy wiped her tears from her eyes.

"No... I have changed, I use to care, I use to be kind and look out for people but now I can't this is how it is, I can't worry about other people, if I worry then there is always the heartache after something happens to them... that is why I'm not staying, you can call me a coward or pathetic, you can call me every name under the sun but at the end of the day I'm doing what I need to do to stay alive and if you don't like it then that is your problem..." She uttered, her voice shaking lightly as she bit back the rest of the tears.

"That's no way to live... we're not meant to be alone Levy, we're like wolves, we need a pack, we need a family... you can't honestly believe that you'll make it on your own..." Lucy explained and Levy blinked. She didn't want to be alone... it was, well, lonely but she couldn't be with people, she couldn't go through the pain, she just couldn't.

"Just... take me to your injured, the faster I get done then the faster I get out of here..." she said and Lucy sighed as she nodded, opening the door before them and she glanced up at Gajeel. His face was stern and unmoving like stone and for a second, their eyes met and she could almost feel the pity, the anger, the pleading that was in those red orbs. He looked away and so did she, she knew what was in her eyes, sadness, anger, longing but she didn't want any of it, she wanted isolation, she wanted to be left alone...


	4. Chapter 4

**I need you.**

 **By: LemonSherbert**

 **Chapter 4: Attempting to kiss.**

 **I do not own Fairytail or any of the characters in this story, they are owned by Hiro Mashima, anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review.**

* * *

The red dolly shoes slapped on the wooden flooring and kept slipping off of her feet, making her scowl at the infernal foot wear as she walked though her mind was on other things. She was having an internal war with her heart and her head, her head saying 'stay away, do what you need to do then leave' while her heart was practically screaming 'you're lonely, I'm lonely we need friends, we need to have some place to call home'. It was stressing her out and she just wanted to scream, Lucy was saying something about who she shouldn't listen to Gajeel because he's an ass but what he had said was true. It hurt like hell but it was true and as the saying goes, the truth hurts, she wasn't ashamed of what she had done, she did it to survive but that didn't mean she was happy about it, if she could have helped then she would have but she couldn't.

"This is where our injured are..." Lucy said and Levy looked up as Lucy pulled open the doors, it was a dorm room but the beds were full of wounded or sick people. Some of them had deep, clearly infected lacerations, others where coughing awfully and she stared inwards, the things in the medical cabinet were nowhere near capable of handling what was going on in there.

"I can't do this..." she said as she stared at the patients... it was awful, there were people tending to the sick with no masks on and probably contracting whatever diseases the sick had.

"Yes you can, I believe you can, you just... need to boost your confidence!" Lucy smiled and Levy raised a brow as she looked up at her and she shook her head.

"I mean... you don't have the tools to deal with what's going on here, you're not taking the right safety precautions, everyone in this room is probably now a carrier of any of the infections going through the air, god, anyone knows that, close the doors!" Levy snapped as she pinched the bridge of her nose and Lucy quickly did as she was told. "Who is in charge here?... or are you all just winging that as well?" Levy scoffed and Lucy shook her head, clearly embarrassed. "Take me to him... please" she said and the blonde nodded as she turned on her heels and began walking swiftly down the hall.

"Wh... what are you going to do?" Lucy asked and Levy thought for a moment, she said she'd help so she was going to try but she couldn't do much without the proper equipment or medicines.

"We need to go to a hospital... a pharmacy, somewhere with medical supplies, I can't do a damn thing until we establish that we need to go out and get the things we need, I want a face mask before I go into that room because I can't help if I get sick too, then I can see what I'm working with and we can make a list of all the antibiotics, all the medicines and painkillers that I'm going to need" she explained. Lucy nodded as they made it to the stairs and she jogged up them, Levy followed close behind, well aware of how exposed she was with a dress on but she had more things to worry about and the jacket kept some of her modesty safe. They jogged up two flights of stairs and she was starting to think that the school was never ending but they finally got to, what she presumed was the teachers dorms and offices because it said staff only on the double glass doors. Lucy pulled them open and Levy followed her through as they walked briskly down the hall to the 'headmasters' office where Lucy knocked and they waited patiently. The door was pulled open and the red haired woman, Erza, who was smiling at the both of them before she stepped aside.

"Levy, we were just talking about you, come in..." she said and Levy nodded, passing the threshold of the door, the room was full of cabinets and one bookshelf. Before her was a large, mahogany desk and two brown leather seats were in front of it, a large, black, leather seat was behind the desk and in it was a small, old man. He had half a ring of white hair going from ear to ear and he had a thick, white moustache, he was in a white coat with a shirt on, looking more like a headmaster than the leader of a survival group.

"Miss Levy, it's good to see you are well, I'm the leader here, Makarov, is there anything I can do for you, child?" He asked and she tensed her jaw but let the child remark slide as he was probably forty years her senior and she stepped forwards.

"Yes... you need more medical supplies if you expect me to help you, everyone that has been in contact with any sick people I want in that room and under quarantine, we don't know what disease or _diseases_ these people have and... I may not be able to help everyone in that room" she said, there was no point giving them hope that everyone was going to come out alive. The man looked down and hummed gravely as he stroked his moustache and thought, though she couldn't see what there was to think about. "Plus, unless you get me some sort of medical mask then I am not stepping a foot inside that room" she added.

"I see... this puts us in quite a predicament, doesn't it?... Gajeel, after all, you said she wasn't needed and that she was an emotional wreck but she seems to have her head screwed on tight enough..." the old man replied and she followed the gaze of his aged eyes. Behind her, hidden behind the door, was the obsidian haired man who got on every single one of her nerves. He was in a green wife beater with a long, chocolate brown, studded jacket and black, baggy pants tucked into black, Steele toecap boots.

"Well she had a nervous breakdown in the bathroom, I just thought she wasn't stable enough to be here, plus she runs away from everything and she pisses me off..." he grumbled as he kicked the door closed and walked forwards with a scowl etched on his face.

"Yeah well, you're no ray of sunshine either, are you?!" Levy shot back as she mimicked his glare, he clearly wasn't use to people matching his snide remarks as he growled under his breath like some wild beast.

"Now, now, kids... play nice, clearly Levy is willing to help us so we should treat her as one of us, not give her anymore reason to leave, now, my dear, what is it you intend to do?" Makarov asked and she turned her attention to him after giving Gajeel another glare, seeing his bruising lip made her smirk inwardly as she took a deep breath.

"Right, I need a surgical mask to ward off any infection in the room, I also want anyone who has come into contact with the sick in a quarantined room to keep any sickness contained, also, there is a high chance I will have to do surgery on those with infected injuries, there is a lot to be done and we may not have the resources or time to save everyone who's in the room, that is why, I need to go out and get more medical supplies, surgical equipment, medicines... I can't help you if I don't have the right tools to do so" she explained confidently and the group's leader nodded slowly.

"I understand, Erza, if I'm correct we have some masks in the infirmary, I want you to get one and a few for others then round up those who have come in contact with the sick..." he said and Levy heard the door open and close, clearly the red head was very accustomed to following the old man's words. "Lucy, I want you to get one of the vans ready and get this little lady a pen and paper so she can write the medicines that she needs!" Makarov ordered and Lucy nodded as she left the room, leaving Levy there with only Gajeel. "And... Gajeel, since you are so against her, you can help her, you go with her to get the supplies, you help her with the sick and wounded" he grinned and Levy cringed, hating that arrogant man's name.

"What? You've got to be kidding, right? Me... babysitting this little witch, sorry gramps but I don't help stuck up little cowards!" He growled and the old leader slammed his hand on the wooden desk, making Levy flinch as she stepped back.

"You will do as I say, if you are so sure she'll just run then prove me wrong, if she leaves under your watch then I will agree that we don't need her, until then you stay by her side and help her, also, get Lily and Samuel to go with you on the supply run, they haven't been out in a while!" He snapped, growing softer as he finished and Levy gulped, that was... terrifying to say the least, it was as if he seemed to grow in size as he shouted at Gajeel.

"...Fine... but just so you know, I don't like her and I won't pretend I do!" He grumbled, sulking like a little child as Levy turned to see him stuffing his hands in his coat pockets and almost... pouting as he scowled at the floor. He looked oddly adorable as she glared at him.

"Good, cause I don't like you either you jerk!" She snapped, stomping her foot angrily and he blinked at her, his cheeks flushing red and she glared into his red eyes.

"Ghihi... you actually look like a child when you do that!" He teased, suddenly changing his tune and she huffed, she did not look like a child! She turned her face, pouting slightly as her rosy cheeks puffed out and she pressed her lips together in anger, scowling at the cabinets.

"Gajeel, stop flirting and take her to get a medical mask..." the leader said in a bored tone as if he was sick of seeing his antics and Gajeel coughed, stammering to find words as she felt her cheeks burn bright red. He was not flirting... was he?

"I... I was... she... this is bullshit, I'm not flirting, she just looked so fucking ador... she looked like a kid... ah shut it, old man!" Gajeel stuttered, making Levy giggle a little at his flustered reply, something that felt foreign to her as the light tinkling left her lips. "Can it small fry and follow me!" He grumbled and she nodded slowly, following him out the door before turning back to the master who grinned at her as she left and she gave him a small wave. She could hear Gajeel mumbling under his breath but couldn't catch what he was saying as they walked down the hall to the stairs. He seemed to be stomping down them, each step making the wood of the stairs vibrate and she shook her head, she knew he didn't like her but there was no need to throw a temper tantrum. "By the way... I will repay that knee to the face...!" He growled, loud enough for her to hear and she sighed.

"Whatever... just get on with your job and I'll be out of your hair... you know, repaying that apparent debt I owe!" She retorted and he turned his head slightly to glare at her but she just gave him one back that rivalled his own.

"God you're fucking... annoying, you say you aren't a kid but you act like one!" He scoffed and she raised her brow with a 'what the fuck?' look.

"Says the one throwing a hissy fit because he has to help me... what wrong? Did dat mean knee to de fwace huwt your feewings?" She asked, making her voice high pitched and sticking her bottom lip out and he snarled.

"Fuck off... you're just glad Lucy was there or I would have torn your fucking head off!" He growled and she stopped, sticking her arms out wide.

"Well none of them are here now... what's stopping you?!" She challenged crossing her arms over her chest and he stopped a few steps below her, looking up at her with a scowl. Levy actually thought that his glare was just his natural resting bitch face because she hadn't seen those eyebrows... studded or not, part from each other.

"I... I don't hit girls... sorry, I'm just nice like that!" He grumbled with a low and angry voice and this time she scoffed as she pointed to the gauze on her head.

"I think this kind of proves you do... wait I get it, you know that I'm tougher than I look so you don't was to actually hit me and be embarrassed when I put you on your ass!" She grinned with a glare, annoying him even more as she saw his knuckles go white on the banister but she was pretty much way past caring.

"You know, you have a way of getting under my skin that just..." he stopped as he walked up a few steps to be the same height as her and he leaned forwards to peer in her face. "Really frustrates me and that's saying something cause I have some pretty tough skin" he said as she stepped back or tried but her foot slipped on the edge of the step, making her fall backwards and land on her butt with a whimper. This didn't stop him though as he bent down to lean on one knee, putting his arm on the one that was up on the step, as the other hand laid on the wood beside her head. "Let's get something straight... I am still trying to figure out if you're worth the air you breath and pissing me off is not helping that cause... unlike you, I have killed people and I don't mind snapping that thin neck of yours if you keeping annoying me!" He threatened and she felt her heart in her chest but her strong feelings for him, hatred mostly, kept her from actually feeling that scared of him. Levy leaned up, pushing herself up on her arms to be less than a breath away from his face, their noses almost brushing against each other as she looked into his deep red eyes with unwavering bravery. It was like a kitten standing up to a wolf, he was bigger, deadlier and scarier but she was fierce and adorable and smart and had sharp claws, just like a cat.

"Then do it, big guy..." Levy whispered as she glared at him, not blinking as he stared back at her, they stayed like that for a long moment before she felt the hand that was on his knee sliding up her legs. It was rough and slow as she kept her eyes on his, he was clearly trying to intimidate her but it wasn't working. Her body tingled delightfully as his hand travelled to her hips, sliding over her curved waist, narrowly missing her chest until his fingers found her neck. She held her breath as he curled them around her throat and she stared at him, was he really going to snap her neck. Her heart skipped a beat as he tightened his fingers on her neck, her skin prickled as adrenaline pumped through her and she couldn't stop her feeling slightly excited, it was strange she had to admit but the feel of his hand on her made her stomach flutter.

"Don't tempt me..." he uttered as he clutched her neck, pulling her closer until her lips touched his, barely but she could feel them as he gently dragged them across hers and she gasped. Why? Why was he attempting to kiss her? Her heart practically slammed into her ribs hard enough to break them as she gulped and he pressed his lips more against hers. They were surprisingly soft yet hard as he pushed into her, making her fall back on the wooden steps and her eyes grew wide in confusion and shock. She wasn't quite sure what to do as she sat there, eyes open wide and cheeks furiously red with his lips locked with hers and his eyes also locked with hers. After a moment he pulled back and she gasped as he let her go of her neck and he grinned, his eyes twinkling as he turned, leaving her sat there stunned.

"Wh-what?... why did you just? What!?" She screamed, feeling like there was steam coming out of her ears as she followed him down the stairs. Her head was a mess as she tried to figure out a reason for his actions but she kept coming up blank, mainly because her head was in the clouds but that wasn't the point.

"Ghihi... who knows? Maybe you turn me on as well as annoy me" He grinned as he looked back at her and she blinked at him, what?! She didn't know what to do, she wanted to punch him, she wanted to kiss him back, she also wanted to run away.

"Who gave you the right to do that? I didn't say I wanted to be kissed!" She yelled and he turned, leaning on the banister as he raised a studded brow with a mischievous smirk.

"Who the hell asks for a kiss? Sorry shorty but that ain't my style, plus we're verging on becoming extinct, why do you care if I kiss you or not?" He asked and she glared at him, to be honest she couldn't think of a reason why she cared because she honestly didn't mind it but still, he was an asshole.

"Y-you can't go around kissing people you just met and you... you said you didn't like me!" She shouted, balling her fists at her sides in embarrassment and he chuckled as he looked her up and down.

"We didn't just meet, I've know you for around two days and a bit, you've only know me around over half a day, not my fault you were asleep for the rest... and meh... I guess I can make an exception for my feelings cause you're hot" he said as he began making his way down the stairs again.

"Wait what? That doesn't count!" She screamed as she trailed after him, flustered and annoyed...


	5. Chapter 5

**I need you.**

 **By: LemonSherbert**

 **Chapter 5: More than meets the eye.**

 **I do not own Fairytail or any of the characters in this story, they are owned by Hiro Mashima, anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review.**

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Levy grumbled as she pulled the elastic band over her hair and placed the mask over her mouth and nose, it smelt musky, like it had been in the cupboard for a while but it was probably the best she was going to get. Gajeel pushed open the door and she could already hear the groaning, the cries, it was awful to hear as she walked in after taking a deep breath. As she walked she could already see some of the types of medicines and equipment that she'd need and she scribbled it on the paper that Lucy had brought to her and she kept walking, inspecting everyone's injuries. It was obvious that some of these people were already very close to dying and she felt her heart twist as she got closer the end of the room... where the children were. The sight alone made her want to cry and hold them all close, the first child was a young boy, he had a tuft of bright blue hair and was panting heavily, he was very pale and he had charcoal eyes that were barely open. They flitted towards her and her heart practically stopped as a small; lazily smile crept across his cracked, pink lips.

"Are... y-you the n-nurse... that's going t-to... make us... better?" He asked in a weak voice and she stepped closer, he must have been no older than twelve as she nodded.

"I'm going to try... what's your name sweetie?" She answered as she smiled down at him, if anything she could at least make him feel better. He looked slightly underfed, sweat was coating his skin and he had bright pink cheeks, he looked so hot despite the fact that he was shivering.

"H-Happy... I can... can't remember my real name... after the accident... but people call me... Happy!" He smiled and she could tell why, even though he looked so in pain his smile seemed to brighten up the room and she bent down, to be at his level at the bed. She couldn't see anything that could have caused his sickness, there were no wounds that she could see, and she peered closer at his bloodshot eyes.

"I think your name suits you... how long have you been sick Happy?" She questioned and he gasped for air as he thought and she looked up at Gajeel who was stood at the bed of a young girl, her long, deep blue hair was matted with sweat and her brown eyes were tired yet happy.

"W-we started feeling sick... a few days ago... all of us... all the kids w-we started throwing up... we got so hot... an-an..." his talking was cut short by a large coughing fit and she grabbed the glass of water by the side as she helped him sit up.

"Come on sweetie... drink this..." she soothed as she rubbed his back and helped him draw the glass to his lips, he was so weak he could barely hold it himself. After a moment he drank some water and gasped for air, letting out one smaller cough and she laid him back down. "You should rest now okay... I promise I'll help you get better..." she smiled and he nodded as he snuggled into the pillow and she pulled the blanket over him. Levy stood up and walked over to Gajeel who was gently stroking the young girls blue hair and humming, like a lullaby and she almost didn't want to interrupt. "Gajeel... are all of the kids like this... are they _all_ sick?" She asked and he looked up, stopping his soothing motion on the girl who whimpered lightly.

"Mostly, Romeo, over there, he suffered some burns on his arm, he's sick as well but I think it's infected, we tried as hard as we could but... he's deteriorating..." Gajeel said and she nodded.

"Do you want to tell me which one he is?" Levy questioned and Gajeel nodded, pointing to the bed right at the very end with a tall man sat beside the bed. The man had slicked back blue hair that was slightly greying and he had a thick, blue moustache, the boy had short, spiked, dark blue hair that was almost purple. Levy slowly walked up, it was clear that the man was the boy's father and despite everyone who was tending the sick already having been moved, he was still there and she understood. Her hazel eyes fell down cast as she walked towards them, she had seen the face of so many worried parents before and it always made her want to cry. You could see it in their faces, the fear of losing their babies, she'd never had that but it was like second hand worry, she was petrified every time a child came in to the hospital. "I assume you're Romeos father?" Levy questioned as she got to the bed and the man looked up.

"I... uh yes... I am, my names Macao..." he said and she nodded as she looked down at the young boy, he was panting, his eyes closed and he looked just as bad as the other kids though there was a dirty, bloody bandage going over his right arm. It seemed all the children had fevers, his she suspected from his infection, but the rest from what? Where did they get it? What had they all been doing? Furthermore, if it was just a normal fever then surely the people in this place could deal with it. No, there had to be more to it than that.

"I'm going to do everything I can to help your son but... I need to see under the bandage... I need to see how his burn is doing..." she told the man and he looked down at his boy. He stroked Romeos sweat dripped forehead before he looked up at her again and nodded once as he picked up the boys arm and he groaned in pain but seemed too weak to move. Macao moved slow and carefully as he began to unwrap the bandage and she began seeing the bloody, charred and infected flesh of his arm. Once the bandage was removed she gasped, his whole, lower arm was covered in third degree, infected burns and, it didn't look untreatable but she'd never seen one so bad. "What happened, if you don't mind me asking?" She asked as she inspected the burn.

"I... we were driving... it was a week ago and we were on a run... there was, something on the road and the car flew out of control, we T boned a tree and the car caught on fire, with the way the car had been, Romeos arm got trapped and... he was stuck, the fire was burning him, we eventually prized his arm free but... it did this to him" Macao explained and Levy listened as she looked over the young boy.

"I can treat it... don't worry, he'll need a course of antibiotics and his wound will have to be regularly be cleaned but if I can get the right equipment and medicine then he'll pull through" she explained and smiled as the fathers face lit up with hope. He stood up quickly and she squeaked as he reached over the bed, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her into a hug.

"Thank you... so much!" He rasped in her ear and she nodded as she patted his back, awkwardly returning the hug before he let her go and she turned on her heels to see Gajeel still by the young girl's bed. His large hand was in her tiny one and he was gently stroking her palm as he spoke and she could see the gentle smile on the girl's lips.

"Gajeel... I think I have everything... but I need to know, did the children all come into contact with anything around the same time... did you give them any new food? Do they stay somewhere else? Do they have an area of their own to play?" She asked and Gajeel looked up as the little girl coughed and Levy smiled at her, though through the mask it wasn't really visible.

"W-we... have our own... dorm... b-but... I think it... it's just a sickness..." the young girl said and Levy looked down at her, she was so pale and thin, like she couldn't keep anything down. Levy sat down on the bed next to the little girl and bent over her, checking her temperature with the back of her palm and she was practically on fire.

"It may just be a sickness but we need to get you better, was there something that you were all doing before you got sick, were you playing somewhere? Did you have something to eat?" She asked and it was like her cool hand soother the young girl who sighed.

"I... we were all playing out in the sun... it was so hot... we all just fell asleep for a while... it was... so hot" the little girl said and Levy almost fainted with relief at the information as she looked up at Gajeel whose red eyes were on the little girl, his worried gaze making Levy think he was capable of being more than just a douchebag. It wasn't uncommon for a fever to be contracted from heat exhaustion but all at the same time seemed strange.

"Was that all of you? How long were you playing out in the sun for?" She asked and the little girl shrugged as Levy stood up and retrieved her paper.

"All day, all of us were... I think, I can't remember... a... a man came to the gate... near the animals... he... he gave us some berries... I do-don't think we should have eaten it..." the little girl said and Levys eyes went wide as she stared at Gajeel whose eyes mirrored hers. From the look of his face this was the first time he'd heard of that and he scooted closer to the young girl, stroking her head.

"Wendy, listen to me... you have to tell me, wh-what did those berries look like? Why didn't you tell us about this man?" He asked and the small girl squirmed as she looked at them, like a scolded child and she looked down ashamed.

"Th-they were red... like strawberries b-but... they looked... l-like dotted grapes with tiny strawberry pips... an-and I was worried you'd get mad... so I didn't s-say" she explained and Levy mentally wracked her brain from all the information she had read in her medical books and dangerous plant books. Then, a red, dotted, grape like berry fell in her vision with an abundance of information as she recited the book she had read.

"A Kasai berry... they grow around lakes and while they're not deadly, they can make you very sick and can cause things such as dehydration, vomiting, elevated temperature, muscle weakness, sore throat, lack of breath, loss of appetite and sometimes convulsions... b-but why would someone give children those berries? Did he know that they would make them sick?" She questioned as she paced in front of the bed and Gajeel patted Wendys blue hair.

"So they aren't going to die or anything...?" Gajeel asked and Levy looked at him as she raised a brow, seeing his worried face made her expression soften and she shook her head.

"No... usually the sickness passes after a couple of days, they should start getting better soon... you just need to keep them hydrated and try keeping them eating..." she answered and he nodded, his face lighting up with relief as he smiled down at the young girl. In his mask you couldn't tell but his studded brows fell apart and grew gentle as he looked at the Wendy who smiled lazily up at him.

"Is she here to help, big brother?" The young girl asked and Levy stared at them both, they didn't look anything alike, not a bit, she was adorable and sweet, he was... well scary and mean and handsome and annoying. Not to mention none of their features even looked the same, their skin tones, their eyes, and their hair; nothing for a second made her think they were related.

"She is... she's going to try and make everyone better..." Gajeel answered as he stood up and Wendy looked at her, making her heart tremble as her soft, brown eyes twinkled in the light and she smiled sweetly at Levy. "Right, you need to get some rest, I'm going on a run but I promise I'll come back" he said and Wendy pouted but nodded as she curled up in the covers and Gajeel got up from the bed. Levy smiled down at the little girl who waved goodbye to her and Levy waved back before her and Gajeel began walking out of the room. Once Gajeel had closed the door behind them she took of the musky mask and took in a deep breath, happy to not be smelling that awful thing on her face.

"I'm not going to save everyone in that room... I kids will be fine but... some of the older ones, I don't even think they have enough energy to make it through the night..." Levy said as she looked down at the paper, it was a long list and she doubted that she'd even be able to get half of what they needed. Gajeel only hummed as he took off his mask and she looked up at him, he had a deep scowl on his face and she could tell he was angry. "What's wrong?" She asked, even though she didn't really want to care but she couldn't help it.

"That man... he must have known what those berries were going to do, if he saw our community then why didn't he come in? He did know what he was doing; he purposely did it, but why?" Gajeel growled as he began walking and Levy followed him, not quite sure where she was meant to go.

"Look, you can get to the bottom of it once I've helped the rest of your people but we _need_ to go get this stuff or mostly all of the people in that room will die!" Levy pressed and he grumbled as he looked away.

"I know, I know it's just... I don't like this one bit... it means that someone knows where we are and clearly doesn't have any desire to come and see us... it puts me on edge... we've worked too hard for someone to try and ruin it all..." he said as he walked and Levy nodded, her legs were cold due to the dress but she ignored it as they walked up the stairs.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she stayed close to him and he looked over his shoulder, his eyes scanning her outfit and he sighed.

"To get you better clothes, I don't think a dress is really suitable for going out in zombie territory and... you'll want your stuff back... right?" He answered and she said nothing, he was right though, a dress in this sort of time was just stupid. She might have worn one months ago, before all of this but now, she was more aware of how hard some clothes can be to bite through. Levy said nothing after that and patiently followed him through the halls to a large room, it was full of clothes, some were on lines, others were piled up and some were in washing machines and dryers. "Here, find something better, I'll be outside..." he said and she nodded, walking in and he pulled the door closed behind her. She looked around the room, seeing an assortment of girls' clothing from underwear to dresses and pyjamas, Levy rolled her eyes at the amount of skirts and dresses as she walked around and plucked up a pair of black leggings because all of the jeans were either too small on her or too big. Levy grabbed a pair of grey, jean shorts, some bleu socks, a pair of brown doc martins a white tank top with thick straps and she pulled open the door. "That was quick..." Gajeel stated as he looked over her clothes.

"Well I'm not in there to make a fashion statement, I just need clothes" she said and he nodded as he began walking and she followed him with her clothes and shoes in her arms. They walked up the second flight of stairs and a little ways down the hall until they got to a room labels Mrs Fitzgerald and he pushed open the door. It was a large room with a huge, four poster bed, a large white dresser, and a full length mirror and all along the side was like a weapons display. His room was full of knives, sharpened metal poles, metal bats, a sword and pretty much any scrap piece of metal cutlery you could find.

"Cool right, it's my collection, we collect metal and forge other weapons and bullets in the schools joinery and carpentry floor" he explained as she looked around. She honestly couldn't care where he got his things from or what he did to them as long as her weapons weren't in the scrap pile. "So, you can get dressed and I'll find your weapons, they're around somewhere..." he said and she wanted to punch him, how could he misplace weapons that weren't his? Instead of fighting, she grumbled and placed her clothes on the bed, she kicked off those annoying shoes and began tugging the leggings up under the dress. After she had the leggings on, she pulled the shorts on over them and pulled on her socks, she shook off her coat and undid the ribbon on the dress, hearing him fumbling around in the metal. Before it fell off her, she pulled the top over her head, stopping him from even seeing an inch of her skin as she let the dress pool at her feet and pulled on her army jacket. She tied up the shoes she had grabbed and sat there on the bed; she sighed as she looked around and thought. How had she gotten into this mess? Why did that man give the kids berries they shouldn't eat? Why hadn't he come in for refuge? Was there something more to what was going on? Considering some of the people she had seen had knife wounds, slash marks... wounds that would have indicated a fight and some of them were pretty fresh. There definitely was more to this group of people than met the eye... and she wasn't sure if she wanted to find out or not but she did want to protect the kids...


	6. Chapter 6

**I need you.**

 **By: LemonSherbert**

 **Chapter 6: A bad person.**

 **I do not own Fairytail or any of the characters in this story, they are owned by Hiro Mashima, anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review.**

 **Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up, I've been pretty sick over this week, nothing too bad, had to stay overnight in the hospital which was** _fun_ **, turns out I had a kidney infection, they don't need to take my kidney out thank god! But now I'm on the four different tablets for the infection and the pain** _and_ **have to made a diary of everything I eat and drink for two weeks. But I'm back so hopefully I'll be updating a little more regularly, anyways enjoy.** _Sorry for the wait._

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"Here's your shit" his deep voice said and her machete and knife were thrust into her lap, making her sigh with relief as she put her hands on them, feeling the cool, metal blades on her skin. Her hazel eyes flitted from each weapon, inspecting them, making sure they weren't damaged before she tucked the knife into her boot and put the machete through the belt hole on the hip of her shorts. She had to admit, having her weapons made her feel a lot more relaxed, maybe because even though she could do damage with her hands and feet, they could never slice through skin the way a knife would.

"Thank you..." she said in a small voice, unsure if he even deserved a thank you after what he had done. Levy put such petty thoughts aside, she had things to do and the quicker she did them then the quicker she could be out of the _civilisation._ It wasn't that she didn't want to be around people... more of that she _couldn't_ it stressed her out and made her worry; she couldn't afford that when she had to look after herself.

"No problem, Lucy should have finished sorting out the truck by now so why don't we get going?" Gajeel asked, she didn't say anything as she stood up and began walking to the door. Before she even touched the door handle, he had already opened it, as if he wanted to be a gentleman and she looked up at him, he had that stupid, unruly grin on his lips and he gently ran his hand through his obsidian hair. She still couldn't believe that he had kissed her, it was unreal, why she didn't push him away was even more unbelievable, she hated people so why in the hell did she let him do that? Levy shook her head, some of her blue locks coming down and obstructing her view and she pushed them to the side, out of her eyes as she walked out of the room. She let Gajeel walk in front, mainly because she was able to keep an eye on him but also because she hadn't the faintest idea where she was going, the school was like a maze of corridors and floors. "So my friend Lily and his brother Sam are joining us, Sam's pretty much all brains but Lily's all brawn so we'll be safe" Gajeel explained as they walked towards the stairs and she sighed.

"I don't know why you're telling me, it's not like I care, once I'm done here, I'm going, I'm not staying to make friends" she said and she felt like a broken record. No matter how many times she said it, everyone she met seemed to think she was going to stay, like she was going to throw every lesson she'd learnt out the window for them when that just wasn't the case.

"Oh my fucking god, you're so cynical, you make it sound like we're some sort of cult or something, we're not going to make you sacrifice a goat or take a bullet for us, we need you and you need us, that's all there is to it!" Gajeel exclaimed as he opened the door and held it for her as she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I don't _need_ anything or anyone, least of all anything from someone who knocked me out and stole my weapons, as far as I'm concerned I'll be just fine without you or this place, I've been doing fine on my own and I'll keep doing fine when I leave, I'm not fragile or weak, and I can take care of myself!" Levy snapped back, she hated that he thought she needed them, like she needed protection, she wasn't a child.

"No one said you were but your break down in the baths just proved how much you need people, you're lonely, don't try to deny it, you're holding on to remnants of people because you don't want to let go, you want to be with people but you're scared, I may look all muscle and no mind but I'm not, I have a fucking brain!" Gajeel retorted as he trudged down the stairs and she followed him, watching how his black hair swayed slightly as he walked and she grumbled.

"Could have fooled me..." she murmured under her breath as she walked down the steps, not biting back on his comments because she didn't want to talk anymore, mainly because what he was saying was true but she wouldn't tell him that.

"I heard that!" Gajeel growled in front of her and she chuckled as she followed him down the endless flights of stairs until the got to the bottom floor and she felt a chill run down her spine. There were blood spatters on the floor and walls, bloody hand prints were on the lockers and there were scratches and slash marks, it was like a war zone.

"What... what happened here?" She asked as they began walking left and she skipped to finally walk beside Gajeel, she didn't know why but his presence made her feel a little more at ease as she tried not to look at any of the gore.

"A fight... there's another group of _people_ who want this place but for other reasons, they're not exactly friendly either and not like your kind of unfriendly, they... they eat people, they're cannibals, rapists, murderers, this place is secure, it has ten feet high, concrete walls, the gate is thick iron built into the ground, it's practically undead proof, that's why they want it, they can kill, maim, do whatever they want behind these walls because the dead can't get in..." Gajeel explained and she gulped, would she have run into them at some point? Would they have raped, killed and ate her to?

"Do you, do you think that the kids were poisoned by one of them?" She asked, thinking about how he reacted to what Wendy had told them and he only nodded as she bit her lip. This was all the more reason to stay away but then again, now she knew they were out there she kind of didn't want to leave, they would surely be watching and see her as an easy meal when she went on her way. Oh this had taken a turn for the worst! Gajeel steered her around the corner to the large, double doors that were radiating light from outside and she felt a small breeze blow through the hall. She followed Gajeel out, shielding her eyes from the bright skies and she sighed as she took in a deep breath of fresh air, it was almost heavenly. Being outside made her feel better, it was normal now, to be outside, to be walking and wondering, she wasn't use to being inside any more.

"This way shorty, keep up!" She heard Gajeel yell and she looked down the small flight of concrete steps to where he was standing and she jogged down them. He was telling the truth, a large, brick wall was encasing the school and the large gate stood tall and proud and well... unmovable. There was a large fountain before them with two metal horses that had started rusting and she wasn't quite sure if that was the reason the water was a copper colour. The floor was covered in leaves, spots of blood and debris, so the fight happened not too long ago.

"Are you sure it's safe to go out, with this other group running around?" Levy asked, trying not to sound so scared, well she was scared but she didn't want to sound it. Gajeel turned back and looked at her, a brow raised with an amused smirk as he pulled the gun out from his waist band.

"Trust me... we'll be fine" he said with a grin as he put the gun back and strangely enough, even that little notion made her feel a lot better about it all. They walked through the garden to the big black gate and two guards were stood either side of it. "Sting... Rogue" Gajeel said addressing the two. The one known as sting was well built, he had a white polo shirt on with cut off sleeves and black jeans, his hair was spiked and blonde and he had a strange smirk on his face while holding a shot gun. His friend reminded Levy of a smaller Gajeel, he had an angry scowl and black hair that fell over one red eye, not to mention he just felt... distant keeping his own rifle at his side, he was well built but not as built as Gajeel.

"Lily and Sam are in the truck waiting for you... now fuck off; your ugly mug is making me sick!" Sting said with an unruly laugh and she watched as Gajeel grit his teeth and gave him and evil smirk.

"That isn't what Yukino said last night~!" Gajeel almost sang and Levy tensed as Sting pumped his shot gun with a glare that could topple a mountain but Gajeel didn't even flinch. "Oooh, did I hit a nerve, you're such a fuck face, get the fucking gate open!" Gajeel scoffed and Sting growled as he grabbed the gate pulling up the lock that was in the small hole in the concrete. Rogue stood still, clearly not about to open his gate because he didn't need to and she sort of suspected that it would risk some of the infected getting in the larger entrance if there were any around. Gajeel grinned as they walked and he patted Sting on the shoulder arrogantly.

"Try not to die out there... asshole..." Sting growled as they left the safety of the school grounds and Levy looked back, now seeing how big the school actually was and her eyes widened. The main building was five floors from what she could see and there was two more buildings either side, connected by hallways on the third floor though the other two buildings were smaller so their third floor was the last floor.

"How big is this school?" Levy asked in awe as they walked towards a small, grey van that was parked about half way down the long road and Gajeel pulled his small hand gun from his waist as they walked and he turned off the safety.

"It's pretty big, the left building is mainly for arts, theatre, metal works, that sort of thing, the right is for normal subjects, maths, science, that crap and the middle building is for the living quarters, that's why it's so big" Gajeel explained and she stayed close to him. The school was in the middle of know where, large trees completely covered it and she could barely see six feet into the forest around the road, it was so dense. To be quite honest, it was giving her the creeps and she had to hold in the shiver that threatened to drip down her spine as they got to the van and Gajeel pulled open the sliding, side door, letting her in first. She slid into the seat and Gajeel got in besides her, slamming the door shut.

"You finally made it; we've been sitting here for ages!" A deep, rough voice said and Levy looked up, seeing a dark skinned man, he had a scar on his left eyes that sort of looked like a crescent moon, it was also pink so it was still quite new. He was made of pure muscle in his Grey T-shirt that showed every one of his defined muscles and he wore dark green combat trousers. "I'm Lily, nice to meet you... Levy, right?" He asked as he held out his hand and she nodded, returning the greeting with a light hand shake, despite his size he was oddly gentle as he shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too..." she said blandly, not on purpose, she didn't want to be rude, she just wasn't use to pleasantries but she was trying.

"This is all well and good but if we want to get to the hospital in Lavendale before nightfall then we need to get going!" Came a pompous sounding voice that Levy didn't really like. She followed the voice to see the man sat in the passenger seat, he was almost like Lily but there was a slight skin tone difference, with, who she was guessing was Samuel, being a little less dark than Lily. Not to mention he was almost stick thin and wore round glasses, he looked like the complete opposite of his brother but they had certain mirroring traits, like the way they sat and their eyes.

"Forgive my brother, he's a little rusty in the social department, his name's Sammy" Lily smiled at her and she nodded, hearing the disgruntled noise from the thinner man.

"My name is Samuel, not Sammy you degenerate!" He snapped and Lily just laughed as he shook his head and brought the van to life, it spluttered and coughed for a minute but came to life.

"Are you sure this thing will make it to the hospital? That doesn't sound healthy" Levy asked, knowing that vans and cars were not meant to make that sort of sound. It sounded like the gears were getting stuck and were crunching bones between their works. Lily tapped the dash board as he pulled out of his stationary spot and they began making their way down the long, tree lined road, away from the school.

"Sure she will, she's never failed us before, I've had this thing since the beginning, don't worry!" He smiled through the mirror and she nodded, turning to Gajeel who had been suspiciously quiet the whole time and she saw him staring... glaring out of the window as if he was waiting for something to happen. She bit her lip, wondering if she should talk to him but from past times, she doubted that it would end well, his personality just aggravated her, handsome or not he acted like he knew everything and that he was better than everyone else. It was also clear that despite his actions on the stairs that he didn't like her either, they were completely incompatible yet he still stole a kiss from her.

"According to my calculations, at the speed we should hit on the highway and the miles to Lavendale, it should take us about six hours if we don't make any stops" Samuel said as he stared at a map, using a pencil to calculate things on the small border and Levy moved up, looking over his shoulder and she checked it out.

"Wait, what if we take this route, it would cut our journey by two hours?" Levy asked as she pointed to the path that ran along the bridge to the large city of Fiore. Lavendale was just outside of it, it wasn't a small town but it wasn't big either and it had one of the best medical facilities and tools that money could buy.

"I've already listed that but then we have to take in account if the bridge is accessible, it may not even be there, the bombs could have destroyed it, the odds of making a wasted trip and wasting gas are too high to take that route" Sam explained and Levy shook her head.

"No, I travelled that way, the bridge isn't out, I walked past this not a week ago, it's intact... for the most part, there is a big chunk missing on the left side, here" Levy said, circling the part a quarter down the bridge on the left. "But the van could get down, assuming that the beams would be able to support it if they aren't broken, look, we don't have time to take long routes, the longer we are the high the chance of more people dying in that infirmary!" Levy exclaimed and Samuel tapped his pencil on his chin. She could now see that he was wearing a pair of faded, blue jeans and a light blue, denim shirt, to be honest his fashion sense was lacking but it wasn't important in a zombie apocalypse.

"I don't think it's wise, we don't know how many zombies may or may not have blocked that path, and the back roads will be less likely to have any zombies in them!" Samuel argued and she huffed.

"Look, I get it, you're the brains, you like that you are useful but we don't have the time to go all the way around the bridge just because a couple of undead may be in our way, are you really going to throw away valuable time because you're scared!?" Levy snapped.

"Me, scared, no, I'd just rather not die because some no good, runaway doctor feels like she can atone for abandoning people to die by making our friends better when you wouldn't have done it in the first place had we not taken your weapons or told you the children were sick!" He yelled back at her and she felt like someone cut off her wind pipe as she sat back in her chair and tried to ignore the sudden stabbing sensation in her heart. The way he said it, it made her sound like such a bad person and she... she wasn't was she?


	7. Chapter 7

**I need you.**

 **By: LemonSherbert**

 **Chapter 7: Soft side.**

 **I do not own Fairytail or any of the characters in this story, they are owned by Hiro Mashima, anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review.**

 **I kind of feel like Lily would be an AC/DC kind of guy... I dunno...**

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Levy glared out of the window in silence, nobody had said a thing for a tense fifteen minutes, the air was so thick she could have cut it with a knife and she was trying so hard to swallow the lump in her throat. Through the reflection in the glass she could see Gajeel glance at her every few seconds but he clearly felt the same way because he hadn't said a word the whole time. She could have killed to have something to block everything out, like her old Ipod and just get lost in the music but no, she had to sit in awkward silence, pretending she wasn't about to burst into tears. It wasn't like she was oblivious to what she had done, she regretted it every day but it was survival, if... if it was them would they have ran away? Would they have abandoned people to save themselves? She'd only met a few of them but she felt like their answers would be a lot different than hers, they had made bonds, they were a tightknit community while she... she was a lone survivor. God why did she feel so guilty?! Her eyes stung and she bit her lip, closing her eyes but that didn't help, all she could see where terrified faces, mangled bodies... people she had left behind, it was haunting and she let out a small gasp, she was going to burst, she could feel it. Without a moment's hesitation, she zipped up her jacket, hiding her face, or at least the bottom half of it as she pulled up her legs, perching them on the edge of the seat and she wrapped her arms around them, trying to make herself as small as possible because that's how she felt. Small.

"So... Levy, what hospital did you work at?" Lily asked, cutting through the silence and she sighed, she didn't want to talk, or see anybody, it was just easier to lock herself away.

"I worked at Hargeon medical centre..." she said quietly, turning her head towards the window as she watched the forest getting thinner, spreading out more. They had only been driving about twenty minutes and they were only just nearing the threshold of the forest.

"That's near the sea right? I've been to Hargeon, years ago before all of this, it's a nice town!" Lily smiled and she scoffed as she thought of the town when she last saw it.

"Was... it _was_ a nice town... I watched it burn to the ground, it was one of the first places to be bombed, I doubt a single building is standing now" Levy explained as she closed her eyes, oranges, reds, smoke, screams, nothing but destruction and death was left of her beautiful home. The town was one of the best fishing ports around until everything happened, the fond memories of fishing with her parents made her smile and she felt a single tear slip down the side of her cheek.

"That's a shame, it was a beautiful town, the locals were wonderful people..." Lily said in a gentle voice and she hummed as she wiped a tear from the side of her face.

"This is lovely but what I want to know is why... you, Levy, left all those people to die?" Samuel asked and there was a growl of annoyance from Lily and she swallowed but didn't answer. It was safe to say that she did _not_ like Samuel. What was his problem? He didn't even know her, what she had done was none of his concern. "See, Gajeel told us it was because you were scared but I think, no, I know, it's because you don't care what you do as long as you're alive, you would kill wouldn't you? Actually let me correct myself you _have_ killed, every single person you ran with before, they all died and that is on you!" He said in a snide voice and she dug her nails into her legs, biting her tongue to stop from screaming at him.

"Sammy that is enough!" Lily snapped at him and Levy flinched at the harshness of his voice. "People do things for different reasons, just because you _think_ she did it because she is some sort of conniving devil doesn't mean she is, you can't go around assuming you know everything when clearly you don't!" The larger brother said sternly.

"Don't call me Sammy and as far as I am concerned, she's nothing but a waste of space, I could save everyone in that room if Makarov let me!" Samuel argued and Lily scoffed.

"You don't know what you're doing, face it, you're just mad because she managed to diagnose what was wrong with the kids in less than half an hour and you'd spent over eighteen hours trying, she also knows that the bridge isn't out so we _can_ and _will_ take that route if it saves time, a few dead are nothing compared to the struggle of burying a friend, you should know that!" Lily shouted at him, effectively shutting his brother up and Levy blinked in shock. "If you don't like that then please, find a quicker route and we will take it, if not then shut up and stop thinking you're smarter than everyone!" Lily snapped and Samuel huffed, slumping in his chair with a growl.

"Well said Lil'" Gajeel said and Levy rolled her eyes, it wasn't like he was defending her or anything and this was _his_ fault, if he hadn't gone gossiping then maybe Samuel wouldn't want to make her feel like crap.

"Shut up Gajeel, you weren't fighting her corner but you didn't mind putting her down when she wasn't there to defend herself!" Lily snapped at him and Gajeel growled.

"I would have defended her but she didn't need it, she was coping just fine!" Gajeel argued and Lily grumbled under his breath, making Levy look up and she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her hazel eyes were glistening and puffy from crying and her cheeks were red, it was obvious that she was upset but she was trying to hide it.

"Coping, yes... because crying silently is coping, becoming withdrawn and quiet is coping, in my books, that is silently _not_ coping!" Lily exclaimed and Levy looked at Gajeel who glared down at her but his expression softened at the state of her upset face.

"Sorry, not all of us can read people's moods like you can!" Gajeel snapped back, crossing his arms over his chest and slumping back, both him and Samuel taking the same sulking position.

"Now... Levy, first, I would like to apologize for my brother, he's an egotistical know-it-all that doesn't like it when he's wrong" Lily smiled through the mirror and Levy bit her lip, shaking her head.

"No, he's right, I could have saved... I should have saved some of them but I ran, I should have helped but I ran and I kept running" she confessed, looking down as the guilt consumed her.

"Levy, stop... you did what you had to, all of us have done things we regret to survive... there is no shame in that" Lily said softly and she shook her head.

"There's shame in leaving others to die when you could have done something" she replied, looking down at her entwined fingers as she laid her head on the cold window.

"So you left some people, we've _killed_ people, we've slaughtered to keep our people safe... other humans, we've not even thought about it and just killed them, don't you think that's shameful?!" He asked and she stared up at him through the mirror, his brown eyes glancing at her every now and again.

"But you did that to _save_ your people, you did it to keep the people you loved safe... I just ran because I was a coward, I was afraid to die..." she answered, her voice quiet and gentle, almost a whisper and Lily sighed.

"Everyone is afraid to die, to lose all the memories you made, to leave the people you love, it's not cowardly to be afraid to die, it's natural... it makes you human, it proves you're alive!" Lily spoke, with all the conviction of a president he almost convinced her she was that as his words echoed in her head. She was alive, he was right but at the cost of so many others lives, she was human but those she had come to encounter, no longer were.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't..." she breathed, muffled in her coat but apparently he didn't hear it as he kept driving and she was glad, she really didn't want a lecture about appreciating life. Though Gajeel heard it as she saw him stare at her out the corner of her eye but she pretended not to notice as she fiddled with her nails.

"Hmm, I think we should put on some music, it's getting a little too morbid for my liking" Lily stated and he opened a small tray behind the gear stick and she saw a long row of CD's. He grabbed the third one in, looking down the song selection before using one hand to open the disk and place it into the CD slot. Static came through the speaker for a moment and Lily smacked the dash, making it stop and he chuckled. "Sometimes she doesn't like the speakers" he told her and she nodded as music began softly humming through the speaker beside her leg.

She knew the song, it was something her dad use to listen too, if she remembered rightly then it was 'Highway to hell' by AC/DC. Out the corner of her eyes she could see Gajeel tapping his leg to the beat and Lily was strumming his fingers on the steering wheel, even Samuel was gently bobbing his head to the beat. Half way into the song she almost jumped out of her skin when Gajeel began rather soulfully singing the chorus, joined by Lily as Gajeel leaned over the front of Lily's seat to happily form the duet and Levy tried to supress a giggle. Oblivious to her own leg tapping to the beat and her small humming to the song. Lily seemed to really like AC/DC because almost every CD he owned was an AC/DC album and Gajeel was really fond of them too, not shy about playing an air guitar or killing her eardrums with his... unique singing. His voice was rough and grainy making her teeth clench but she wasn't about to be a party pooper and tell him to shut up, even if she was starting to hear white noise. She almost sighed out loud when Lily put on a smoother, less loud song on, it was sort of a sad song but it made her feel calm as she watched the fields emerge, an untouched and clear tulip field, red scouring the horizon. It looked like a river of blood that swayed gently in the breeze and she rolled down her window, leaning on it as she let the breeze whip her hair around. Despite the feelings gnawing at her, she couldn't help but feel oddly relaxed, the wind rushing through her hair, the calm melody of the song, Gajeels soft singing, it made her feel, well... at home, it was comforting and it stayed like that for about five or ten minutes.

The feeling of something softly hitting her shoulder made her jump and she turned her head, seeing his obsidian hair on her shoulder and she blinked. His eyes were closed and his breathing was calm and slow, coming out in gentle snores and she panicked a little, she wanted to push him off but she didn't want to wake him up. A small chuckle made her look up and Samuel snapped a photo as Lily smiled through the mirror and she frowned.

"What?" Levy asked quietly and Gajeel began slipping, sliding down her arm until his head hit her lap and he murmured, wriggling upwards slightly and he put his legs up on the chair as Samuel snapped another picture. "Why are you taking photos?!" She grumbled at him with a scowl.

"Blackmail, Gajeel hates showing his soft side and how much softer can you get? Sleeping in a small woman's lap... it's the best blackmail" Samuel answered in a bored tone and she wanted to chuck the phone out of the window but that would mean moving the sleeping beast on her legs. Instead she looked down at him, his frown had softened, one arm was under him and the other was beside his head on her knees. His long, black hair was slightly falling over his face, his chest rising and falling slowly and she bit her lip, it would have been a _huge_ lie to say she didn't find him attractive, he was a dangerous mix and handsome and sexy badass which was awful because it was an alluring mix.

"Just roll him off you... god knows he deserves it... though just because I find it hilarious embarrassing him, he didn't leave your bedside while you were resting... something about you being cute in your sleep and also the fact that he was the reason you were there so he felt responsible" Lily explained and she felt her cheeks grow pink as she looked up at the driver who was smiling evilly. "He didn't sleep at all... he was worried you'd wake up and run off though you wouldn't get far... so it's no wonder he's exhausted" He said, looking at her through the mirror. Levy smiled, looking down at the sleeping giant and she moved his fluffy hair behind his ear, it was surprisingly soft as she moved it and she couldn't help running her fingers through it a little. When he mumbled and moved she froze, watching him as he rolled around to face her stomach and he snuggled closer, his breath warming her skin through the thin fabric.

"Does he ever show his soft side to anyone?" Levy asked curiously as she put her hand on his shoulder, the other hand gently playing with his silky hair, it was like raven feathers, deep black and smooth.

"He does... but to very few people, some of the first people who ran with him, me... Samuel, Natsu, Lucy... and he is very fond of Wendy, I think he sees her as a baby sister" Lily divulged and she nodded, she saw that in the infirmary. Though with the way he acted to her, she felt like he was almost always angry or being a dick though she'd seen cracks in his hard exterior when he was around the people he held dear. "He must be getting close to you as well, I've never seen him show so much interest in a girl before, normally they're in and out of his room by morning, he has a reputation for being... well a womanising man-whore with an attitude problem!" Lily laughed and she giggled, that much was true she could tell.

The next hour or so was quiet, they passed a car wreck and there was a zombie mangled between a tree and a beaten up car. Though what upset her more was the people tied to the tree, a child, no older than seven was crucified and on the branches hung a man and a woman, presumably his parents and Levy gasped. By the looked of them they had been put up there after they had died because the man was missing an arm and it was too high for zombie to reach and the woman was missing half of her face. It was sick and she wanted to throw up but she held it down and looked away, she had seen worse but it wasn't done by humans, that display clearly was. Occasionally Gajeel would speak in his sleep, nothing worth paying attention too but she could have sworn she heard her name at least a dozen times. When they came to a fork in the road Lily stopped, on the left was the road heading to the bridge towards Lavendale and Fiore and the other would take them the long way around.

"Gajeel, get up!" Lily barked, turning around to shove the soundly sleeping man and Gajeel grumbled, shooing his hand away as he pulled Levy tighter against his face.

"Piss off, it ain't morning yet and my pillow smells nice..." he mumbled, clearly still half asleep and Levy blushed as he took a deep breath against her and Lily shook his head.

"Your _pillow_ is the poor woman you claim to despise, now get the fuck up!" Lily snapped at him and Gajeels eyes snapped open, staring at her stomach for a moment before he looked up and she gave him a shy, awkward smile.

"Morning..." she said in an uneasy, nervous voice and he shot up, sitting across the seats as he clearly mouthed something to Lily but she couldn't quiet catch it, though it made Lily smirk so it clearly wasn't mean. Gajeel shook his hair out and stretched with a groan before smacking his lips together and Lily shut off the engine.

"Pee break, come on, we don't stop until we get to the bridge after this" Lily stated and opened his door, followed by Samuel and Gajeel but Levy didn't really need the toilet and stayed sat where she was. "Come on Levy, if someone tries stealing the van then they can't take off with you as well, at least stand outside your door" Lily smiled through his open window and she sighed, coming out of her side and standing by Samuel which was painful enough before he whispered in her ear...


End file.
